Google = killing dreams since 1996

I'm pretty sure that everyone has had those random get rich quick ideas in the middle of the night ... the ones where you say to yourself, "Man. I bet I could make a million bucks if I could figure out a way to produce and sell those half popped popcorn kernels that I love so much." And then you fall asleep, forgetting about your ingenious idea only to have it pop back in your brain three years later.

So, last week I finally got around to Googling this idea of mine about the half popped kernals.
http://www.popnots.com/
Darn. Beaten to the punch. Haven't seen them in the stores (perhaps for good reason?). But might have to order a bag or two just to try 'em out.

And then today while driving in the car I thought, "What if I made a put together a website where you could submit your own photo, and it would be checked against a database of other user submitted photos ... to find your twin(s) across the globe! How cool would that be!". And so tonight I go back to Googling and find:
http://ilooklikeyou.com
Drat.

Google! Why do you do this to me? Must all my dreams be squashed so quickly?!

Are we this simple minded?

Without fail, the CNN.com "Most Popular Articles" list leaves me scratching my head.

Hugh Hefner's breakup with a Playboy bunny beats out all articles related to our economy. And a piece on Saturday Night Life comes way before anything on either the Russian or Arab conflicts.

I mean, ... really?
With whats happening in our world right now, THOSE are the most popular articles?

Wow.

http://www.cnn.com/mostpopular/

On a day like today...

After being holed up in bed all weekend with a cold ...
I came in to the office to find that the market tumbled further and further ...
And my 'to-do' list at the office seemed to grow instead of shrink.
Exhausted, I head home to find my wife heading out the door to a parent participation pre-school meeting. Just me and the kids tonight.

But, before she left, I grabbed our son Samuel and headed outside for our third bike riding lesson in the past three weeks. The previous sessions were no more than five minutes long. He has yet to demonstrate a strong inclination towards athletics, so its always a bit of an effort with this sort of stuff.

Today, on the first try ... he rode alone.

Wow. My heart just about popped out of my chest with pride as he soared with uncertainty down the street. The market's woes, the uncertainty of our collective future, my long day at the office, ... none of it mattered. Today, October 7th 2008 will be forever defined as the day I taught my son how to ride his bike.

Suzie gets it.

An earlier post of mine was a bit of a political rant asking our politicians to lead our country by helping all of us learn how to take responsibility instead of fingerpoint. Unfortunately, ... another day, another disaster, ... and more fingerpointing.

I just finished up reading a blog entry by Suzie Orman about personal finances and I can tell that she GETS IT. A small excerpt from the entry:

They ['people' that is] should be worried about everything. And they should be so worried, not that we should start a panic, that they really start to truthfully change their behaviors.
They have to realize that nobody is joking here. They can’t continue to go out to eat, charge it on a credit card and then just pay the minimum at the end of the month. They have got to go into a different type of financial mentality, I have to tell you, I don’t think that has sunk into them yet. so a few more days like this a few more things coming down the pike, they may go ‘oh, my God, we may be in serious trouble here.

Green Dirt Makin'

What a great invention found by Levi over at LJUrban. A machine about the size of a trash compactor takes your leftover food scraps and turns them in to composte right in your kitchen. Way cool! I might just have to get one.

Check out the story at the LJUrban blog here.

Kinda cool ...

From one of my carriers today:

Texas body shop says 'Thank you' to Farmers

Many great stories about Farmers helping Houston and Galveston residents recover from Hurricane Ike have been brought to light. Here is one kind of story we don't hear much about — Farmers helping a local business reopen its doors.

Brian Pyle, APD special claims representative, explains how grateful a local body shop was for the service it received from him and Farmers.

After we helped the Bear Creek Body Shop reopen their doors after Hurricane Ike, they put up a large thank-you banner. I thought it was pretty cool, especially since the shop is huge — about 36,000 square feet.

They even let me use their golf cart to drive around to look at their claims. Right now, I’m handling 13 claims they have on customers’ vehicles after one of the walls in the shop fell on customers’ vehicles, heavily damaged four of them, and caused minor damage to the rest.

I asked them about the banner and they [said] that they wanted to put it up because we really took care of them. Hearing that really makes you feel like you are making a difference in people’s lives.

Rick Shriver, division marketing manager, (second from left) presents a check to Farmers customers and body shop owners Trey Perdue and George Perdue. Pictured left to right are: Glen Kozielec, Commercial wholesaler Southeast Division; Shriver; Trey Perdue; George Perdue; Doug Freeman of the Large Commericial Loss unit; and shop employees.

No money, mo' lawsuits

Our economy is hurting. No doubt about that. And with the pain from the economic downturns, every family, friend, and client I know is keeping a closer eye on their finances. So how about insurance? Time to drop your coverages and save some pennies?

I'm reminded of a conversation I had a while back with a family member, a paralegal in a prestigious law firm here in Sacramento. A year or two ago, she told me, "Asher, you have to understand. When the economy goes south, our office gets noticeably busier. The more desperate people get, the more angry they get, ... and the more angry they get, the more they blame others for their problems. More blame equals more lawsuits." A sad comment on humanity, ... but it totally makes sense.

Think about it. Suppose you caused an accident today that left the injured party needing to be rehabilitated and retrained for a new career. Are the chances better or worse than before for him to find a new place of employment after the accident? Do you think his overall perception of the economy and his earning ability would prompt him to settle the claim quickly or drag it out? What does that do to your legal tab when you are at fault for his suffering?

In times like these, you can't afford to be without proper liability coverage. Keep your liability limits where they should be. Perhaps raise your deductibles if you need to save some bucks. Just don't leave your assets exposed to the increasingly desperate public.